Greenwich Village In The ’60s

Following successful compilations like Boogie!, Silver Roads, Down Under Nuggets and Cosmic Country, Australian label Festival Records presents a new 2CD set Greenwich Village in the ‘60s.

Sub-titled “Beginnings and Branches of the New York Folk Revival”, Greenwich Village In The ‘60s takes a comprehensive look at the epi-centre of the folk scene that impacted the world in the ‘60s and beyond. It features approximately forty artists who either preceded or followed Bob Dylan (whose track “Talkin’ New York” opens the collection).

It covers similar ground and is a great complement to the Coen Brothers’ recent film Inside Llewyn Davis and its T-Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack. Indeed the new CD features earlier versions of some of the material from the film.

It ranges from the iconic song collector and performer John Jacob Niles and authentically rural artists who found a new home on the New York scene, like Jean Ritchie and Mississippi John Hurt; to new generation urban singer-songwriters who followed in Dylan’s wake including Phil Ochs, Tom Rush and the young Tim Buckley.

The CD comes with a sixteen-page booklet with detailed and engaging liner notes by American music journalist Richie Unterberger (Mojo magazine and author of a two-volume history of ‘60s folk-rock), Greenwich Village In The ‘60s really captures the spirit of the era. It is a fascinating time-piece as it contains as many of the great artists and great songs of the New York Folk scene never before collected in the one place.

Aside from the Dylan track, some of the more known songs are: “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me’ (Van Ronk), “The Last Thing On My Mind” (Paxton), “Banks Of The Ohio” (Baez), “He Was A Friend” (Dian & The Greenbriar Boys), “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down” (Odetta) and “Universal Soldier” (Buffy St. Marie). There are some unknown (to me at at least) gems here as well. Greenwich Village In The ‘60s deserves a spot in your record collection.